Adhesive-tape cutter and adhesive tape

ABSTRACT

An adhesive tape cutter provided with a double-portion forming means that folds a longitudinal side edge of a predetermined width of adhesive tape in the direction that its adhesive face is facing to form a double portion as a non-adhesive portion by pulling out the adhesive tape through between adhesive face-side members disposed on the side faced by the adhesive face and non-adhesive face-side members disposed on the side faced by a non-adhesive face thereof with both the members contacting and pressing against the adhesive tape.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority from PCT International PatentApplication No. PCT/JP2004/005449 designating the U.S.A. filed on Apr.16, 2004 and published in Japanese on Nov. 25, 2004, which is hereinincorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to a tape cutter which folds back alongitudinal side edge of adhesive tape pulled out to have a desiredlength from an adhesive-tape roll so that opposite adhesive faces sticktogether to form a non-adhesive portion, and adhesive tape for use bythe tape cutter.

2. Description of the Related Art

Adhesive tape is a thin film-like strip base made of cloth, cellophane,craft paper, rubber, polyvinyl chloride, or the like which has its onesurface coated with an adhesive made mainly from rubber or syntheticresin, and usually this adhesive tape is rolled into an adhesive-taperoll, which is available on the market. Such adhesive tapes are used invarious sticking applications such as closing envelops or bags, orjoining boxes and lids.

When using such adhesive tape, the adhesive tape is pulled out from anadhesive-tape roll and cut to have a desired length. In order tofacilitate this task, a tape cutter is used.

The tape cutter comprises a tape holder to rotatably support anadhesive-tape roll and a cutting section to cut adhesive tape pulledout, and enables adhesive tape pulled out to have a desired length to beeasily cut without using a tool such as a pair of scissors or a cutterknife, for being provided to adhere to objects to be joined.

Although being for use in various sticking applications, adhesive tapesare often used to temporarily join, and after use, removed or cut.

Since the strip base of the adhesive tape is thin and has its one entiresurface coated with an adhesive, it is fairly troublesome to remove theadhesive tape sticking to an object from it. That is, when removing anadhesive tape whose entire adhesive face is sticking to an object, oneneeds to turn up the outer edge of the adhesive tape with his/her nailso as to form a picking-off margin, and takes hold of the picking-offmargin with the tips of his/her fingers and picks the adhesive tape off.The turning up of a picking-off margin causes much trouble.

For example, for food such as boxed meals and daily dishes sold atconvenience stores, adhesive tapes of about ten and several mm in widthare often used to attach lids to food containers or to stick seasoningbags having seasoning such as sauce or dressing enclosed therein to theoutside of food containers. If the adhesive tape is stuck across theentire surface, a purchaser has much difficulty and trouble in pickingthe adhesive tape off to open the lid of the container or remove theseasoning bag from the container.

Accordingly, in the conventional art, an adhesive tape cutter techniqueis disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No.2001-302078 where in order to facilitate the picking-off, while pullingout adhesive tape, a side edge of the adhesive tape is automaticallyfolded back along the longitudinal side so that opposite adhesive facesstick together to form a non-adhesive, picking-off portion.

The adhesive tape cutter disclosed in the above-referenced publicationis configured as follows (1 to 8):

-   1) to have a support shaft rotatably supporting an adhesive-tape    roll on one side of its casing and an adhesive-holding portion for a    tape pulled out and a cutting blade on the other side;-   2) to have a double-portion forming means that folds back a side    edge of a predetermined width of the pulled-out adhesive tape along    the longitudinal side so that opposite adhesive faces stick together    to form a non-adhesive, picking-off portion, in an adhesive tape    pulling-out path from the tape roll to the adhesive-holding portion;-   3) the double-portion forming means comprising a pulling-out guide    roller, a bending roller, a side bending guide roller, a conical    folding roller, an adhesive face-side press roller, and a    non-adhesive face-side press roller, which are arranged in that    order from the support shaft side to the adhesive-holding portion    side;-   4) to have an open/close member that covers the adhesive tape    pulling-out path in an openable/closable manner and freely rotates    upwards about the pulling-out guide roller supported by the casing    above the adhesive tape pulling-out path;-   5) wherein the bending roller is supported by the casing and    contacts the adhesive face of the adhesive tape except for a side    edge of a predetermined width to be bent, and the side bending guide    roller is vertically supported by the casing such that its    circumferential surface faces an end face of the bending roller and    contacts and presses against the non-adhesive face of the side edge,    not contacting the bending roller, to sandwich this side edge    between the end face of the bending roller and itself and to bend    the side edge of the predetermined width backward or in the    direction that the adhesive face is facing to be at an angle of    about 90°;-   6) wherein the adhesive face-side press roller and the non-adhesive    face-side press roller are arranged vertically and sandwich and    press the adhesive tape against each other;-   7) wherein the non-adhesive face-side press roller is supported by    the open/close member and, when the open/close member is    opened/closed, is moved from/to the adhesive face-side press roller;    and-   8) wherein the loading of the adhesive tape is performed when the    open/close member is open upwards, in which the adhesive tape is    passed under the pulling-out guide roller, then above the bending    roller, the conical folding roller, and the adhesive face-side press    roller, and after the leading end of the adhesive tape is attached    onto the adhesive-holding portion, the side edge of the adhesive    tape is bent into between the bending roller and the side bending    guide roller, and then the open/close member is closed to finish the    loading.

However, in the conventional adhesive tape cutter described in theabove-referenced publication, the open/close member is rotated toopen/close about the rotation axis of the pulling-out guide rollernearest the tape support. Hence, the path for the adhesive tape to passthrough cannot be exposed open over its entire length. Thus, it is atroublesome task particularly to pass adhesive tape under thepulling-out guide roller. Moreover, the task of bending and inserting aside edge of the pulled-out adhesive tape into between the bendingroller and the side bending guide roller is necessary but causes muchtrouble.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention can solve the above and other problems, and anobject thereof is to provide an adhesive tape cutter that can easilyform a non-adhesive portion along the longitudinal direction as apicking-off portion to facilitate removal of the adhesive tape byfolding a side edge of the adhesive tape back to stick with the oppositeface, also easily switch on/off the function to form the non-adhesiveportion, and readily insert and load the adhesive tape.

In order to achieve the above and other objects, according to anembodiment of this invention, there is provided an adhesive tape cutterhaving a main body provided with a tape support that rotatably supportsan adhesive tape roll in which adhesive tape having one adhesive face iswound like a roll and a cutting section that cuts the adhesive tapepulled out from the adhesive tape roll supported by the tape support,wherein between the tape support and the cutting section of the mainbody there is provided a double-portion forming means that includesadhesive face-side members disposed on a side faced by the adhesive faceof the adhesive tape and non-adhesive face-side members disposed on aside faced by a non-adhesive face thereof and that folds at least alongitudinal side edge of a predetermined width of the adhesive tape ina direction that the adhesive face is facing to form a double portion asa non-adhesive portion by pulling out the adhesive tape through betweenthe adhesive face-side members and the non-adhesive face-side memberswith both the members contacting and pressing against the adhesive tape.The adhesive tape cutter is characterized in that the double-portionforming means comprises a bending roller as an adhesive face-side memberthat contacts the adhesive face of the adhesive tape except the sideedge of the predetermined width to be bent; a bending guide block as oneof the non-adhesive face-side members that is placed opposite an endface of the bending roller and contacts and presses against thenon-adhesive face of the side edge of the predetermined width to bebent, not contacting the bending roller, to sandwich the side edgebetween the end face of the bending roller and itself and bend the sideedge of the predetermined width in the direction that the adhesive faceis facing; a folding guide block as one of the adhesive face-sidemembers that has a guide portion contacting and pressing against thenon-adhesive face of the bent side edge to bend the side edge to be atan acute angle and that is placed on the side faced by the adhesive faceof the adhesive tape; and a sticking means as one of the non-adhesiveface-side members that contacts and presses against the non-adhesiveface of the adhesive tape having the side edge folded to stick togetheropposite adhesive faces of the folded adhesive tape; the non-adhesiveface-side members are supported by an open/close member that is openableand closable, and the open/close member is configured to be movablebetween a closed position where the non-adhesive face-side memberscontact and press against the adhesive tape through the double-portionforming means and an open position where the non-adhesive face-sidemembers do not, and in the open position, the non-adhesive face-sidemembers are apart from the adhesive face-side members such that a pathfor the adhesive tape to be inserted through is opened up.

The folding guide block may have a first guide portion that guides andbends the side edge of the adhesive tape at a bending angle of about135° and a second guide portion that bends the side edge at a bendingangle of about 180°.

Further, the first guide portion and the second guide portion togethermay form a continuous curved surface on one side.

Yet further, on the bending guide block, a guide protrusion may beformed so as to contact the non-adhesive face of the bent side edge toguide and bend the side edge at a bending angle of about 120°.

Still further, a press member of the sticking means may be a guideroller.

Further, the double-portion forming means may be fixed to acassette-type holder that is attachable to and detachable from the mainbody.

Yet further, between the tape support and the double-portion formingmeans, there may be provided a positioning means that positions theadhesive tape pulled out from the adhesive tape roll in such a positionas to be fed to the double-portion forming means.

Still further, the positioning means may be fixed to the open/closemember.

Further, the open/close member may be moved between the open positionwhere close and the closed position where apart, perpendicularly to thenon-adhesive face of the adhesive tape.

Alternatively, the open/close member may be moved between the open andclosed positions by being rotated sideways relative to a direction thatthe adhesive tape is inserted through the path.

Other tasks of this application and ways to achieve the tasks will bemade clear by the explanation of the embodiments of the presentinvention and the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a first embodiment of anadhesive tape cutter according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a partially cut-away plan view illustrating the configurationof the adhesive tape cutter of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view along line A-A of FIG. 2;

FIGS. 4A to 4C are detailed perspective views of a bending mechanism,folding mechanism, and sticking mechanism of a double-portion formingmeans shown in FIG. 2 respectively;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the state where an open/close coverof FIG. 1 is open;

FIGS. 6A, 6B are front views showing variations on the open/close coverof FIG. 5;

FIG. 7A is a detailed perspective view of adhesive tape having anon-adhesive portion formed; FIGS. 7B, 7C are perspective views showingthe adhesive tape in a stuck state;

FIG. 8 is a plan view illustrating an adhesive tape cutter according toa second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a side sectional view along line A-A of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a plan view along line B-B of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a general perspective view when the open/close cover is open;

FIG. 12 is a sectional view showing in detail a mutual positionrelationship between a positioning roller, a bending roller, a foldingmeans, and a pair of guide rollers as a sticking means;

FIG. 13 is a sectional view showing the positioning roller;

FIG. 14 shows a variation on the positioning roller;

FIG. 15 is a sectional view showing the bending roller;

FIG. 16 is a sectional view of a variation on the bending roller;

FIG. 17 is a sectional view along line C-C of FIG. 12;

FIG. 18 is a front view showing the bending roller and a bending guideblock;

FIG. 19 is a plan view showing the bending roller and the bending guideblock;

FIG. 20 is a front view showing the bending roller and a guideprotrusion of the bending guide block;

FIG. 21 is a front view showing a sloping block as a first guide portionof the folding mechanism;

FIG. 22 is a front view showing a notched block as a second guideportion of the folding mechanism;

FIG. 23 is a sectional view of a guide roller as a non-adhesiveface-side member of the sticking means;

FIG. 24 shows an implementation where a positioning mechanism isincorporated in a tape holder instead of the positioning roller as apositioning means;

FIG. 25 is a plan view illustrating an adhesive tape cutter according toa third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 26 is a sectional view along line A-A of FIG. 25;

FIG. 27 is a general perspective view when the open/close cover is open;

FIG. 28 is a schematic, side sectional view showing a variation on atape support of the third embodiment;

FIG. 29 is a general perspective view illustrating an adhesive tapecutter according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 30 is a partially cut-away plan view illustrating the configurationof the adhesive tape cutter of FIG. 29;

FIG. 31 is a sectional view along line A-A of FIG. 30;

FIG. 32 is an enlarged perspective view of a folding mechanism; and

FIG. 33 is a general perspective view when the open/close cover is open.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of an adhesive tape cutter and adhesive tape according tothe present invention will be described below in detail based on theaccompanying drawings.

First Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a first embodiment of theadhesive tape cutter according to the present invention; FIG. 2 is apartially cut-away plan view illustrating the configuration of theadhesive tape cutter of FIG. 1; and FIG. 3 is a sectional view alongline A-A of FIG. 2. FIGS. 4A to 4C are detailed perspective views of abending mechanism, folding mechanism, and sticking mechanism of adouble-portion forming means shown in FIG. 2 respectively, and FIG. 5 isa perspective view showing the state where an open/close cover of FIG. 1is open.

The adhesive tape cutter 1 of FIG. 1 is used to pull out a piece of theadhesive tape 2 a to have a desired length from an adhesive-tape roll 2into which adhesive tape 2 a of about 10 mm in width having its oneface, an adhesive face 2 aA, coated with an adhesive is wound like aroll and to cut it off.

This tape cutter 1 has a main body consisting of a resin-made base 3formed in a substantially rectangular solid, a resin-made fixed cover 4fixed to one side of the base 3, and a resin-made open/close cover 5 asan open/close member coupled to the other side of the base 3 to freelyopen/close. Furthermore, a cutter support 6 is provided on one side inthe longitudinal direction of the main body of the tape cutter 1, and atape housing section 7 is provided on the other side.

The cutter support 6, made of resin, is placed in between the fixedcover 4 and the open/close cover 5 and fixed to the base 3. As shown inFIG. 1, a cut 6 a open upwards is made at a position offset in the widthdirection from the center in the cutter support 6, and a cutter blade 8as a cutting section is mounted in the cut 6 a. The cutter blade 8 issandwiched and fixed between the cutter support 6 and a fixed plate 10fixed by a bolt 9 to the cutter support 6 such that the blade end facesupwards in FIG. 1.

In the tape housing section 7, the adhesive-tape roll 2 held by a tapeholder 11 as a tape support is housed. The tape holder 11 has a holdershaft 12 at its center axis and a holder plate 13 fixed to the holdershaft 12, and the holder shaft 12 is rotatably supported by the fixedcover 4 to freely rotate. The holder plate 13 has three legs 13 a, 13 b,13 c extending radially, and tape support pins 14 a, 14 b, 14 c arefixed to the ends of the legs 13 a, 13 b, 13 c respectively. These tapesupport pins 14 a, 14 b, 14 c are arranged so as to engage with theinner surface of the adhesive-tape roll 2 at three points and hold it.The adhesive-tape roll 2 is held on the tape holder 11 by the tapesupport pins 14 a, 14 b, 14 c engaging and holding it, and can freelyrotate relative to the fixed cover 4 by means of the tape holder 11.

Provided between the cutter support 6 and the tape housing section 7 isa tape inserting chamber 15 enclosed by the fixed cover 4, theopen/close cover 5, and a top plate 5 a provided on the top end of thiscover, through which chamber the adhesive tape 2 a pulled out from theadhesive-tape roll 2 is inserted.

One end of the tape inserting chamber 15 is communication with the tapehousing section 7, and the other end is open to the cutter support 6.The adhesive tape 2 a pulled out from the adhesive-tape roll 2 supportedby the tape holder 11 extends from the tape housing section 7 throughthe tape inserting chamber 15 to the cutter support 6.

Disposed in the tape inserting chamber 15 is a double-portion formingmeans 16 which comprises a bending mechanism 30 that bends onelongitudinal side edge 2 aS of the pulled-out adhesive tape 2 a in thedirection that the adhesive face is facing (backward) or downward to beat an angle of about 90°; a folding mechanism 20 that further bends thebent side edge 2 aS to be at about 180° so that the adhesive faces arefacing each other; and a sticking means 40 that sticks the oppositeadhesive faces together.

The bending mechanism 30, as shown in FIGS. 2, 3, 4A, comprises apositioning roller 31 as a positioning means, a bending roller 32 as abending means, and a bending guide block 60.

The positioning roller 31 is provided in between the tape holder 11 asthe tape support and the bending roller 32, to position the adhesivetape 2 a pulled out from the adhesive-tape roll 2 in such a position asto be fed to the bending roller 32, and comprises a roller main body 31a and a flange 31 b provided on the end of the roller main body 31 a andis rotatably, pivotably coupled to the open/close cover 5. Thenon-adhesive face 2 aB of the adhesive tape 2 a pulled out from theadhesive-tape roll 2 contacts and is pressed on the roller main body 31,and the flange 31 b contacts one side end of the adhesive tape 2 a. Thepositioning roller 31 positions the adhesive tape 2 a pulled out fromthe adhesive-tape roll 2 in terms of its height and position in thewidth direction and guides the tape to the bending roller 32.

The bending roller 32 is situated in between the folding mechanism 20and the positioning roller 31 and rotatably, pivotably coupled to thefixed cover 4. One end 32 a of the bending roller 32 is situated on theadhesive face 2 aA of the adhesive tape 2 a, and contacts and pressesagainst the adhesive face except for part of a predetermined width W2 tobe folded. That is, as shown exemplarily in FIG. 2, a circumferentialsurface 32 b of the bending roller 32 contacts the adhesive face 2 aA ofthe adhesive tape 2 a pulled out from the adhesive-tape roll 2 over notits entire width but a predetermined part without contacting part of apredetermined width w to be folded. Furthermore, multiple grooves areformed in the circumferential surface 32 b to reduce the area contactingthe adhesive face 2 aA to prevent the adhesive tape 2 a from sticking.The side edge of the adhesive tape 2 a guided by the positioning roller31 is bent with the end face 32 a and guided toward the foldingmechanism 20. Although in the present embodiment the bending roller 32is formed in a cylinder, not being limited to this, it may be adisc-like object having a thin circumferential surface that contacts apredetermined position of the adhesive face 2 aA of the adhesive tape 2a.

Moreover, the bending guide block 60 as a non-adhesive face-side memberis provided on the back surface of the top plate 5 a of the open/closecover 5 so as to be opposite the end face 32 a of the bending roller 32and contact and press against the non-adhesive face of the side edge 2aS of the predetermined width W2 and sandwiches the side edge 2 aSbetween the end face 32 a of the bending roller 32 and itself and bendpart of the predetermined width w backward, in order to bend backwardthe side edge 2 aS of the predetermined width W2 not contacting thebending roller 32. The bending guide block 60 extends farther toward thefolding mechanism 20 than the circumferential surface of the bendingroller 32 and has a guide protrusion 62 formed in a triangle at the endthereof which protrusion contacts the non-adhesive face of the side edge2 aS bent at about 90° of the adhesive tape 2 a so as to guide andfurther bend the side edge 2 aS to be at a bending angle of about 120°,that is, to form an acute angle of about 60° with the opposite adhesiveface.

The folding mechanism 20 as a folding means, as shown in FIGS. 2, 3, 4A,is a folding guide block having a guide portion that contacts andpresses against the non-adhesive face of the bent side edge 2 aS of theadhesive tape 2 a to bend the side edge 2 aS to be at about 180°. In thepresent embodiment, this folding guide block comprises a sloping block21 as a first guide portion to guide and bend the side edge 2 aS of theadhesive tape 2 a to be at a bending angle of about 135° (for theopposite adhesive faces to form an acute angle of about 45°) and anotched block 22 as a second guide portion placed adjacent to thesloping block 21 to guide and further bend such that the bending anglereaches about 180°, and both the blocks 21, 22 are fixed to the fixedcover 4 such that they are disposed on the side faced by the adhesiveface below the adhesive tape 2 a and in the almost middle between thetape holder 11 and the cutter blade 8.

That is, the sloping block 21 has a sloping surface 21 a making an acuteangle of α (≅45°) with the adhesive face 2 aA of the adhesive tape 2 ain the tape inserting chamber 15, and is fixed to the fixed cover 4 atan attaching portion 21 b provided on its one side.

The notched block 22 has a wedge-like notch 23 having a slit-like exit23 a slightly larger than the thickness of the adhesive tape 2 a and aninsert entrance 23 b larger than the slit-like exit 23 a. The notchedblock 22 is divided into a top block 22 a situated above the notch 23 inFIG. 3 and a base block 22 b situated below in FIG. 3; the top block 22a is fixed to the open/close cover 5; and the base block 22 b integralwith the sloping block 21 is fixed to the fixed cover 4.

The sticking means 40 is for sticking together the opposite adhesivefaces of the adhesive tape 2 a having the side edge 2 aS folded,comprises at least a pair of press members disposed respectively on theside faced by the adhesive face and the other side of the adhesive tape2 a having the side edge 2 aS folded, and is provided in between thefolding mechanism 20 and the cutter support 6 as shown in FIGS. 2, 3,4C. In the first embodiment, the press members are a pair of guiderollers 41, 42, which contact and press against the adhesive tape 2 ahaving the side edge 2 aS folded from both sides.

Of these guide rollers 41, 42, the guide roller 41 situated on the sidefaced by the non-adhesive face 2 aB of the adhesive tape 2 a isrotatably, pivotably coupled to the open/close cover 5, and the guideroller 42 situated on the side faced by the adhesive face 2 aA of theadhesive tape 2 a is rotatably, pivotably coupled to the fixed cover 4.Since the guide roller 41 is disposed such that the lower end of itscircumferential surface is lower than a line joining the exit 23 a ofthe notched block 22 and the guide roller 42, the adhesive tape 2 a isguided around the guide rollers 41, 42 and its feeding direction isvaried such that the adhesive tape 2 a contacts and presses against boththe guide rollers 41, 42. Moreover, multiple grooves are formed in thecircumferential surface 42 a of the guide roller 42 to reduce the areacontacting the adhesive face 2 aA to prevent the adhesive tape 2 a fromsticking.

The open/close cover 5 as an open/close member of the tape cutter 1 ismounted in an openable/closable manner so as to be movable between aclosed position where the non-adhesive face-side members coupled to theopen/close cover 5 are made to contact and press against the adhesivetape 2 a inserted through the tape inserting chamber 15 and an openposition where the non-adhesive face-side members are not, and in theopen position, the non-adhesive face-side members are apart from theadhesive face-side members so that the inserting path for the adhesivetape 2 a is exposed open over its entire length. Furthermore, theopen/close cover 5 is opened and closed by being pivoted sidewaysrelative to the inserting direction.

That is, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the open/closecover 5 is pivotably coupled at its lower end to the base 3 via a hinge5 b, and by opening the open/close cover 5 sideways, the non-adhesiveface-side members supported by the open/close cover 5 such as the topblock 22 a, the positioning roller 31, the bending guide block 60, andthe guide roller 41 are rotated away from the adhesive face-side memberssuch as the bending roller 32, the sloping block 21, the base block 22b, and the guide roller 42. That is, by opening the open/close cover 5,the top block 22 a, the positioning roller 31, the bending guide block60, and the guide roller 41 are away from the adhesive tape 2 a, so thatthe inserting path for the adhesive tape 2 a is exposed open over itsentire length.

Hence, for example, when exchanging the adhesive-tape roll 2 held by thetape holder 11 with a new one, by opening the open/close cover 5, thedistances between the non-adhesive face-side members such as the topblock 22 a, the positioning roller 31, the bending guide block 60, andthe guide roller 41 and the adhesive face-side members such as thebending roller 32, the sloping block 21, the base block 22 b, and theguide roller 42 become larger. Then, after attaching the adhesive-taperoll 2 to the tape holder 11, the adhesive tape 2 a is pulled out untilits leading end reaches the cutter blade 8, and by placing thepulled-out adhesive tape 2 a above the bending roller 32, the slopingblock 21, the base block 22 b, and the guide roller 42 for insertion andthen closing the open/close cover 5, the exchange of adhesive-tape rolls2 and the loading of the adhesive tape 2 a into the double-portionforming means 16 is finished. Note that the open/close cover 5 is keptclosed by a magnet unit 17 on the base 3 magnetically attracting andcontacting a metal plate 17 a fixed to its inner surface.

As such, of the members forming the double-portion forming means 16, thetop block 22 a, the positioning roller 31, the bending guide block 60,and the guide roller 41, which are situated on the side faced by thenon-adhesive face 2 aB of the adhesive tape 2 a, are fixed to theopen/close cover 5, and by opening the open/close cover 5, these membersare away from the bending roller 32, the sloping block 21, the baseblock 22 b, and the guide roller 42, which are situated on the sidefaced by the adhesive face 2 aA of the adhesive tape 2 a, of the membersforming the double-portion forming means 16. Thus, the loading of theadhesive tape 2 a into the double-portion forming means 16 can be easilyperformed.

Although in the present embodiment the open/close cover 5 isopened/closed about the hinge 5 b provided on the base 3, not beinglimited to this, as shown in FIG. 6A, a hinge 5 b may be provided on thefixed cover 4 on the right side of the Figure at a higher position thanis shown in FIG. 5, and thereby the radii of the top block 22 a, thepositioning roller 31, the bending guide block 60, the guide roller 41and the like are set smaller. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 6B, anopen/close cover 5 may slide upward in the Figure thereby verticallymoving the top block 22 a, the positioning roller 31, the bending guideblock 60, the guide roller 41 and the like away from the non-adhesiveface 2 aB of the adhesive tape 2 a, or any other open/close method canbe used in which the members situated on the side faced by thenon-adhesive face 2 aB of the adhesive tape 2 a together with theopen/close cover 5 move away from the members situated on the side facedby the adhesive face 2 aA of the adhesive tape 2 a.

An intermediate position setting member (not shown) for holding theopen/close cover 5 in an intermediate position where its angle issmaller than in a full-open position shown in the Figure is provided onthe tape cutter 1. When the open/close cover 5 is held in theintermediate position, the distances between the top block 22 a, thepositioning roller 31, the bending guide block 60, the guide roller 41and the bending roller 32, the sloping block 21, the base block 22 b,the guide roller 42 become slightly larger than those when theopen/close cover 5 is fully closed. In this state the setting of theadhesive tape 2 a in the double-portion forming means 16 is notcomplete, that is, the double-portion forming means 16 does not performits intended function.

Next, cutting the adhesive tape 2 a with the tape cutter 1 will bedescribed.

First, the adhesive-tape roll 2 held on the tape holder 11 is housed inthe tape housing section 7. Then, the open/close cover 5 is opened; theadhesive tape 2 a pulled out from the adhesive-tape roll 2 is loadedinto the double-portion forming means 16; and after its leading end ispositioned on the cutter blade 8, the open/close cover 5 is closed.

Then, the leading end of the adhesive tape 2 a is held with the tips ofthe fingers and the adhesive tape 2 a is pulled out from theadhesive-tape roll 2.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 4A, the sloping surface 21 a of thesloping block 21 is disposed to contact the non-adhesive face 2 aB ofthe one side edge of the adhesive tape 2 a, and the side edge of theadhesive tape 2 a is bent at an acute angle in a direction that theadhesive face 2 aA is facing.

In the notched block 22, the adhesive tape 2 a bent by the sloping block21 is inserted through the insert entrance 23 b, and as it goes throughthe notch 23, increasingly bent up to a degree that opposite adhesiveface 2 aA parts are almost parallel at the exit 23 a slightly largerthan the thickness of the adhesive tape 2 a. Thereby, a continuousdouble-portion 50 with the adhesive face 2 aA inside is formed at oneside edge of the adhesive tape 2 a output from the exit 23 a.

The size of the double-portion 50 formed by the folding mechanism 20 isrestricted by the bending roller 32 to a predetermined size. That is,since the circumference of the end face 32 a of the bending roller 32 ispositioned on the adhesive face 2 aA as shown in FIG. 4B, part of theadhesive tape 2 a farther than the end face 32 a is prevented from beingbent, thus keeping the size of the double-portion 50 constant.

Moreover, the size of the double-portion 50 restricted by the bendingroller 32 varies depending on the width-direction position relationshipbetween the adhesive tape 2 a and the bending roller 32. Hence, in thetape cutter 1, the positioning roller 31, which guides the adhesive tape2 a to the bending roller 32, restricts the adhesive tape 2 a inwidth-direction position. That is, although the tension occurring whilethe double-portion 50 is being formed attempts to move the side end ofthe adhesive tape 2 a that contacts the flange 31 b of the positioningroller 31 toward the double-portion 50, i.e., to the upper right in FIG.4B, the side end of the adhesive tape 2 a is restricted in movement bycontacting the flange 31 b of the positioning roller 31. Thus, thewidth-direction position of the adhesive tape 2 a is always keptconstant.

The feeding direction of the adhesive tape 2 a having the double-portion50 formed by the folding mechanism 20 can be varied by the guide rollers41, 42 as shown in FIG. 4C. At this time, the opposite adhesive face 2aA parts in the double-portion 50 of the adhesive tape 2 a are pressedagainst each other by the tension that the adhesive tape 2 a gives tothe guide rollers 41, 42, and thus, the one side edge 2 aS of theadhesive tape 2 a is folded to form a double, non-adhesive portion 51 asshown in FIG. 7A.

This series of steps are consecutively performed by continuously pullingout the adhesive tape 2 a from the adhesive-tape roll 2. When anadhesive tape 2 a piece of a desired length has been pulled out, theadhesive tape 2 a piece is cut off by pressing the adhesive tape 2 aagainst the cutter blade 8.

In this way, by using the tape cutter 1, the non-adhesive portion 51 canbe formed at one side edge of the adhesive face 2 aA of the adhesivetape 2 a, and thus the adhesive tape 2 a piece, which is to be easilyremoved, can be cut off. That is, when the adhesive tape 2 a is stuck tolids 53 a, 53 b of a box 52 for enclosing as shown in FIG. 7B, the oneside edge thereof is not sticking to the surface, and thus the tape canbe easily removed when holding this.

However, with the adhesive tape 2 a having the non-adhesive portion 51formed, a worker cannot recognize the lateral center of the adhesiveface 2 aA from the side faced by the non-adhesive face 2 aB. Hence, thesticking needs to be performed confirming the size of the adhesive face2 aA, and thus it may be difficult to stick the adhesive tape 2 a to anappropriate position. Accordingly, a chain line 54 is printed as a markindicating an approximate lateral center of the adhesive face 2 aA withthe non-adhesive portion 51 beside it on the non-adhesive face 2 aB ofthe adhesive tape 2 a of the adhesive-tape roll 2 mounted on the tapecutter 1. That is, a means indicating information about the adhesivearea width after the side edge 2 aS of the adhesive tape 2 a is foldedis marked along the longitudinal direction at a distance inward from theside edge 2 aS on the non-adhesive face not coated with an adhesive.

Thus, when the adhesive tape 2 a is stuck to the lids 53 a, 53 b forenclosing, by making the chain line 54 coincide with a boundary 53 cbetween the lids 53 a and 53 b, the approximate lateral center of theadhesive face 2 aA coincides with the boundary 53 c between the lids 53a and 53 b, thus facilitating the sticking. Moreover, characters 55 asshown in FIG. 7B or icons 56 as shown in FIG. 7C that indicates thepresence of the non-adhesive portion 51 may be printed on thenon-adhesive face 2 aB of the adhesive tape 2 a. Although in the presentembodiment the chain line 54 is used as a mark indicating an approximatelateral center of the adhesive face 2 aA, not being limited to this, anymark can be used by which an approximate lateral center of the adhesiveface 2 aA can be recognized from the side faced by the non-adhesive face2 aB, such as a solid line, a dashed line or coloring differentlyopposite sides of the approximate lateral center of the adhesive face 2aA. Although the characters 55 or the icons 56 are printed on thenon-adhesive face 2 aB to indicate the presence of the non-adhesiveportion 51, not being limited to this, other icons or symbols may beused to indicate the presence of the non-adhesive portion 51.

Furthermore, when the open/close cover 5 is held in the intermediateposition, the tape cutter 1 can cut a usual adhesive tape without thenon-adhesive portion 51. That is, when the open/close cover 5 is held inthe intermediate position, the distances between the top block 22 a, thepositioning roller 31, the guide roller 41 and the bending roller 32,the sloping block 21, the base block 22 b, the guide roller 42 areslightly larger than those when the open/close cover 5 is fully closed.Hence, the adhesive tape 2 a is not completely loaded in thedouble-portion forming means 16, so that the non-adhesive portion 51 isnot formed on the adhesive tape 2 a.

As such, the open/close cover 5 can be held in the intermediateposition, and by allowing the open/close cover 5 to switch between thefully-closed position and the intermediate position, the tape cutter 1can cut usual adhesive tape without the non-adhesive portion 51 andadhesive tape with the non-adhesive portion 51, thus increasing itsversatility.

Second Embodiment

FIGS. 8 to 11 show a second embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 8is a plan view thereof; FIG. 9 is a side sectional view along line A-Aof FIG. 8; FIG. 10 is a plan view along line B-B of FIG. 9; and FIG. 11is a general perspective view when its open/close cover is opened. AndFIG. 12 is a detailed sectional view showing a mutual positionrelationship between a bending mechanism 30, a folding mechanism 20, anda sticking means 40.

In the second embodiment, the essential configuration thereof is thesame as in the first embodiment, and the same reference numeralsindicate the same or like parts as in the first embodiment, and adescription thereof is omitted. A tape cutter 101 has a resin-made mainbody 102 formed in a substantially rectangular solid, and a cuttersupport 6 is formed integrally with the main body 102 on one side in itslongitudinal direction, and a tape housing section 7 is provided on theother side.

As shown in FIGS. 8 to 12, a cut 6 a open upwards is made in the cuttersupport 6, and a cutter blade 8 is mounted in the cut 6 a. The cutterblade 8 is fixed to the cutter support 6 such that the blade end facesupwards.

The tape housing section 7 is formed by vertical side walls 103 formedintegrally with the main body 102 on its opposite sides along thelongitudinal direction, and an adhesive-tape roll 2 held by a tapeholder 11 as a tape support is housed in the tape housing section 7. Thetape holder 11 is a resin-made rotation wheel, at whose rotation centera holder shaft 12 is formed integrally therewith and loosely fitted androtatably held in mounting cuts 103 a made in the side walls 103.

Provided between the cutter support 6 and the tape housing section 7 isa double-portion forming means 16 which comprises a bending mechanism 30that bends one longitudinal side edge 2 aS of the pulled-out adhesivetape 2 a backward or downward at an angle of about 90°, a foldingmechanism 20 that further bends the bent side edge 2 aS to be at about180° so that the adhesive faces are facing each other, and a stickingmeans 40 that sticks the opposite adhesive faces together.

The double-portion forming means 16 is mounted on a cassette-type holder104 that is attachably, detachably provided to the main body 102. Thiscassette-type holder 104 is formed in a rectangular solid, and comprisesa base 105, opposite side walls 106 formed vertically on opposite sidesof the base 105 along the longitudinal direction, and an open/closecover 5 provided between the tops of the opposite side walls. A tapeinserting chamber 15 is enclosed and formed by the side walls 106 andthe open/close cover 5. The open/close cover 5 is pivotably coupled tothe top of one of the side walls via a pivot pin such as a hinge 5 b ora joint as shown in FIG. 11, and the open/close cover 5 is opened andclosed by being pivoted through 180° sideways relative to the insertingdirection for the adhesive tape 2 a. Note that the open/close cover maybe coupled so as to be slid by a slide mechanism (not shown) or thelike.

Cassette attaching rods 104 a are fixed to the base 105 of thecassette-type holder 104 near its lower end. The cassette attaching rods104 a are inserted from above into the vertical cut portion ofattachment cuts 103 b formed like an L-shape in the side walls 103 ofthe main body and, at the lower end of the vertical cut portion, slidinto the lateral cut portion extending toward the adhesive-tape roll 2and held.

Furthermore, a stopper 5 c protrudes from the swinging end of theopen/close cover 5, and when the cassette-type holder 104 in a statewhere the open/close cover 5 is closed is attached to the main body 102,the stopper 5 c fits into a stopper cut 103 c made through the uppersurface of the side walls 103 of the main body 102, and thereby thecassette-type holder 104 is fastened to the main body 102.

The double-portion forming means 16 provided on the cassette-type holder104 has essentially the same configuration as in the first embodiment.That is, the bending mechanism 30 comprises the bending guide block 60as well as the bending roller 32. The bending guide block 60, as anon-adhesive face-side member, is fixed to the open/close cover 5 and,in a closed position, faces an end face of the bending roller 32 andcontacts and presses against the non-adhesive face of the side edge 2 aSnot contacting the bending roller 32, to sandwich the side edge 2 aSbetween the end face 32 a of the bending roller 32 and itself and bendthe side edge 2 aS of a predetermined width backward to be at about 90°.The bending guide block 60 extends farther toward the folding mechanism20 than the circumferential surface of the bending roller 32 and has aguide protrusion 62 formed in a triangle at the end thereof whichprotrusion contacts the non-adhesive face of the side edge 2 aS bent atan angle of about 90° of the adhesive tape 2 a so as to further bend theside edge 2 aS to be at a bending angle of about 120°, that is, to forman acute angle of about 60° with the opposite adhesive face.

The folding mechanism 20 comprises a sloping block 21 as a first guideportion to guide and bend the side edge 2 aS of the adhesive tape 2 a tobe at a bending angle of about 135°, that is, for the opposite adhesivefaces to form an acute angle of about 45° and a notched block 22 as asecond guide portion placed adjacent to the sloping block 21 to furtherbend such that the bending angle reaches about 180°. The configurationthereof is the same as in the first embodiment, and the sloping block 21and the notched block 22 are fixed to one of the side walls 106 of thecassette-type holder 104.

Also, the sticking means 40, as in the first embodiment, is constitutedby a pair of guide rollers 41, 42, which contact and press against theadhesive tape 2 a having the side edge 2 aS folded from both sides tostick together the opposite adhesive faces to form a double portion.

Of these guide rollers 41, 42, the guide roller 41 situated on the sidefaced by the non-adhesive face 2 aB of the adhesive tape 2 a isrotatably, pivotably coupled to the open/close cover 5, and the guideroller 42 situated on the side faced by the adhesive face 2 aA of theadhesive tape 2 a is rotatably, pivotably coupled to one of the sidewalls 106 of the cassette-type holder 104. Since the guide roller 41 onthe side faced by the non-adhesive face is disposed such that the lowerend of its circumferential surface is lower than a line joining the exit23 a of the notched block 22 and the guide roller 42, the adhesive tape2 a is guided around the guide rollers 41, 42 and its feeding directionis varied such that the adhesive tape 2 a contacts and presses againstboth the guide rollers 41, 42. Moreover, multiple grooves are formed inthe circumferential surface 42 a of the guide roller 42 to reduce thearea contacting the adhesive face 2 aA to prevent the adhesive tape 2 afrom sticking. Here, the guide roller 41 on the side faced by thenon-adhesive face is disposed downstream of the guide roller 42 in thedirection that the adhesive tape 2 a is pulled out, which positionalrelationship is opposite to that of the first embodiment in terms offront/back.

With this configuration, the process from bending the side edge 2 aS tofolding it can be stably performed by the tension acting on the adhesivetape 2 a, and the side end 2 c of the adhesive tape 2 a can be foldedsubstantially along a straight line A by the tension acting on theadhesive tape.

FIG. 13 is a sectional view showing the positioning roller 31. In thesecond embodiment, a taper roller 31′ is used as the positioning roller31, and the taper roller 31′ is rotatably supported by a support shaft34 provided at its center and fixed to the open/close cover 5. The taperroller 31′ is tapered to a flange 31 b at its one end, and the tensionacting on the adhesive tape 2 a slides the adhesive tape 2 a to thesmaller diameter side of the taper roller 31′, but the side edge 2 aScontacts the flange 31 b, thereby preventing the further lateralmovement. In this way, the adhesive tape 2 a is positioned in the widthdirection. This positioning stably keeps the folded portion width of theadhesive tape at an accurate size.

FIG. 14 shows a variation on the positioning roller 31, and in thisvariation, a tilting roller 31″ is used. The tilting roller 31″ istilted by the tension of the adhesive tape 2 a, and is loosely supportedby a support shaft 34 fixed to the open/close cover 5. That is, thetilting roller 31″ is formed in a bottomed cylinder where an opening 31c slightly larger than the diameter of the support shaft 34 is formed inits end corresponding to the base end of the support shaft 34 and anopening 31 d of a large diameter is made in the other end. Hence, thetilting roller 23 can tilt by an amount corresponding to the clearancebetween the opening 31 c and the support shaft 34, and the tensionacting on the adhesive tape 2 a when pulled out slides the adhesive tape2 a to the end of the roller, so that the side edge 2 aS contacts theflange 31 b, thereby positioning the tape in the width direction.

FIG. 15 is a sectional view showing the bending roller 32. In thisexample, the bending roller 32 is formed in a simple cylinder, but iscovered with an adhesive-resistant material such as Teflon™ resin toprevent the adhesive face of the adhesive tape 2 a from sticking to it.And the bending roller 32 is rotatably supported by a support shaft 36provided at its center, which is fixed to one of the side walls 106 ofthe cassette-type holder 104.

FIG. 16 shows a variation on the bending roller 32. In this variation, agrooved roller 32′ is used. The grooved roller 32′ has a plurality ofparallel annular V-shaped grooves 33 a provided on its circumferentialsurface, and since only tips 33 b contact the adhesive tape 2 a, thesticking area is small and thus it is hard to stick.

The function and operation of the tape cutter 101 according to thesecond embodiment will be described below using the grooved roller 32′as an implementation.

FIG. 17 is a sectional view along line C-C of FIG. 12. As shown in theFigure, the width W2 of the side edge 2 aS to be folded of the adhesivetape 2 a is decided by a positional relationship between the end face 32a and the flange 31 b at the end of the positioning roller 31, that is,the distance in the tape-width direction from the flange 31 b to the endface 32 a. Accordingly, the distance W2 is set at a desired,predetermined width.

Here, the inventors confirmed the following by experiment. If the foldedwidth W2 is too small, stable folding of the adhesive tape 2 a isdifficult due to the spring-back action thereof. Also, as to thetension, if too strong, the adhesive tape will be cut, and on the otherhand, if too weak, the adhesive tape becomes slack and tangled. That is,the folded width W2 has a minimum limit in practice, and also thetension has an appropriate range.

That is, the side edge 2 aS of the adhesive tape 2 a, which does notcontact and press against the bending roller 32, is shorter in pathlength than the other tape portion extending from a tape contact point31 s through a tape contact point 32 s to a tape contact point 41 s andcontacting and pressing against the bending roller 32 as shown in FIG.12, and hence becomes slack to a degree corresponding to the differencein path length. The slackness is affected by the angle to the tape andthe external diameter of the bending roller 32 and the tension butusually is cancelled out by the extension of the adhesive tape 2 a.However, if the folded width W2 is too large, the slackness cannot becancelled out, so that the adhesive tape 2 a becomes slack. As such, itwas confirmed that the width W2 has an upper limit.

Furthermore, while the folded, double-portion 50 is for persons removingthe adhesive tape with their nails or finger tips, as to the sizes offinger tips of persons including children and adults, the index fingeris from 8 to 18 mm in width and from 7 to 14 mm in thickness at themiddle of its nail according to medical statistics. It is found that,from the point of view of human engineering, the folded width W2 of thedouble-portion 50 easy to remove needs to be at least 1.5 mm and that asthe width becomes larger, easiness to remove rapidly increases.Moreover, if the folded width W2 is at 25 mm or larger, easiness toremove is not further improved, and hence it is not economical. As such,it is found by experiment that in order to bring out enough of itsdesirable function, understanding a ratio relationship between the tapewidth and distances L and M is needed and that desirably the minimum ofthe width W2 is at least 1.5 mm and its maximum is 25 mm or less becauseof the above-mentioned occurrence of slackness and economic effect.

Table 1 shows results of the removal experiment where removal of acellophane tape by a panel of 35 adults is performed and statistics onthe number of answers for each degree of easiness to remove areobtained. The degree of easiness to remove for each value of the foldedwidth W2 from this experiment is shown in the following table.

TABLE 1 Degree of easiness to remove Number of answers out of 35panelists Folded Cannot be Hard to Can be Easy to width W2 removedremove removed remove 1.0 34 1 0 0 1.2 31 4 0 0 1.5 8 12 15 0 2.0 5 1416 0 2.5 2 14 19 0 3.0 0 3 12 20 4.0 0 1 4 30 5.0 0 1 2 32 6.0 0 0 1 348.0 0 0 0 35 10.0 0 0 0 35

As shown in Table 1, for the folded widths W2 of 1.0 and 1.2 mm, 34 and31, most, of the panelists answered “cannot be removed”; for 1.5 mm, 15of them answered “can be removed”, and the number of ones who answered“hard to remove” added to it makes 27, which is greater than the other.

For larger widths, particularly for the folded width W2 of 3.0 mm, 20 ofthem answered “easy to remove”, and for the width of 5 mm or larger, thenumber hardly varies.

From this, it is understood that the critical size of the folded widthW2 in terms of removal feasibility is at least 1.5 mm and the best is atleast 3 mm.

Needless to say, if the width is larger than this, they are easy toremove, but a maximum width of about 25 mm is enough. The width largerthan this is not needed from the viewpoint of its function, since itwould be wastefully large, and also is not preferable from the viewpointof economy since cost would be higher.

Next, the bending mechanism 30 for the adhesive tape will be described.As shown in FIGS. 17 to 22, when the adhesive tape 2 a contacts andpresses against the end face 32 a of the bending roller 32, the sideedge 2 aS not contacting the bending roller 32 is bent by the action oftension backward at the first contact point at a bending angle θ ofabout 135°±30°.

Then, the bent side edge 2 aS moves into between the bending guide block60 downstream of the support shaft 36 of the bending roller 32 andopposite the end face 32 a and the bending roller 32, and while thenon-adhesive side of the side edge 2 aS is pressed against and guided bythe bending guide block 60, the bending angle is further reduced toabout 90°.

The bending guide block 60 extending further downstream than thecircumferential surface of the bending roller 32 has a guide protrusion62 formed in a triangle at the end thereof which contacts thenon-adhesive face of the side edge 2 aS bent at about 90° of theadhesive tape 2 a so as to further bend the side edge 2 aS to form anacute angle of about 60° with the opposite adhesive face. The side edge2 aS contacts and presses against the guide protrusion 62 and is bent atan acute angle of about 60°. The thickness of the bending guide block 60is set at about 5 to 20 mm, and a corner 60 a on the entrance sidethereof is chamfered or formed like an R so as to make introductionsmooth.

Next, the side edge 2 aS bent at about 60° of the adhesive tape 2 acontacts and presses at the non-adhesive side against the sloping block21 as a first guide portion of the folding guide block and is bent bythe block 21 at an acute angle of about 45°, and then contacts andpresses against the notched block 22 as a second guide portion and isfurther bent at about 180°.

That is, the bending guide block 60, the guide protrusion 62, thesloping block 21, and the notched block 22 are configured to reduce thebending angle θ of the side edge 2 aS of the adhesive tape 2 a bymultiple steps to fold it thereby achieving smooth folding.

Of the notched block 22, the top block 22 a fixed to the open/closecover 5 may be either a guide block having its portion, contacting theadhesive tape, formed like an R or as a slide surface, or a roller. Inthe case of a roller, frictional resistance decreases and thus theadhesive tape slides smoothly.

FIG. 23 is a sectional view of the guide roller 41 as a non-adhesiveface-side member of the sticking means 40. The sticking means 40 isconstituted by the guide roller 42 on the side faced by the adhesiveface and the guide roller 41 on the side faced by the non-adhesive face.The guide roller 41 being disposed such that its lowest point is lowerthan the highest point of the guide roller 42 gives a pressing effect,and presses the opposite adhesive faces of the adhesive tape 2 a havingthe side edge 2 aS folded against each other to stick togethercompletely to form a double portion.

Then, the adhesive tape 2 a having the double portion 50, the foldedside edge 2 aS, formed as a non-adhesive portion on its side edge isbridged to the cutting section 6 and a piece of a desired length is cutoff the tape.

FIG. 24 shows an implementation where a positioning mechanism isincorporated in the tape holder 11 instead of the positioning roller asa positioning means. A rotation wheel 110 has a ring flange 112 aprovided on one side in the width direction of its outer ring 112, andone side of the adhesive-tape roll 2 contacts the ring flange 112 a.Also, a flange 12 a is provided on the holder shaft 12 and contacts oneside of the rotation wheel 110. Thereby, the adhesive-tape roll 2 ispositioned by an adjuster 12 b in the width direction and fixed on oneside via a retainer plate 114 to the holder shaft 12. The adjuster 12 bis fixed to the holder shaft 12 by means of, e.g., a screw orfrictional, tight fitting. Thus, the side end position in the widthdirection of the adhesive tape 2 a is constant relative to the bendingroller 32 all the time.

As such, the loading of the adhesive tape into the adhesive tape cutteris essentially the same as in the first embodiment. That is, the loadingis finished by the following simple work. The adhesive-tape roll 2 isfitted into the outer ring 112 of the rotation wheel 110; the rotationwheel 110 is rotatably supported by the tape housing section 7; then theopen/close cover 5 of the cassette-type holder 104 is opened and theadhesive tape 2 a is pulled out from the adhesive-tape roll 2; the endthereof is inserted through the cassette-type holder 104 and attachedonto the cutting section 6; thereafter the open/close cover 5 of thecassette-type holder 104 is closed. In the second embodiment, there isprovided the bending guide block 60 that is not in the first embodiment,and since the bending guide block 60 is fixed to the open/close cover 5,when the open/close cover 5 is closed, the lower end of the bendingguide block 60 contacts and presses against the side edge 2 aS, notcontacting the bending roller 32, from above and bends and sandwichesthe side edge 2 aS between the end face 32 a of the bending roller 32and itself. Thus, only by closing the open/close cover 5, the side edge2 aS of the adhesive tape 2 a is automatically inserted into the spacebetween the end face 32 a of the bending roller 32 and the bending guideblock 60.

Moreover, because the bending guide block 60 and the guide protrusion 62are provided, even if the tension acting on the adhesive tape 2 a isreduced, the side edge 2 aS can be folded smoothly, reliably. Hence,with reduced operation force in pulling-out, operability can be improvedas much as possible.

In the second embodiment, the double-portion forming means 16 is fixedto the cassette-type holder 104, which is attachable to and detachablefrom the tape cutter main body 102. The main body is common with aconventional tape cutter without the double-portion forming means 16,and thus production cost can be reduced as much as possible.

Although detailed description and figures are omitted, in order to formdouble portions as non-adhesive portions on both side edges of adhesivetape, a pair of double-portion forming means may be provided to foldboth side edges of the adhesive tape to form double portions. By formingdouble portions on both side edges of the adhesive tape, easiness toremove the adhesive tape is further improved, and such forming means issuitable particularly for use in a tape cutter for broad adhesive tapes.

Third Embodiment

FIGS. 25 to 27 show a third embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 25is a plan view thereof; FIG. 26 is a sectional view along line A-A ofFIG. 25; and FIG. 27 is a general perspective view when its open/closecover is opened.

Also in the third embodiment, the essential configuration of its mainparts such as the double-portion forming means 16 is much the same as inthe first and second embodiments, and the third embodiment differstherefrom in the structure of the tape holder as a tape support means.Accordingly, the different structure of the tape holder will bedescribed below in detail, and as to the double-portion forming means16, the same reference numerals indicate the same or like parts as inthe first and second embodiments, and a description thereof is omitted.

As shown in FIGS. 25 to 27, in the third embodiment, the tape holder 11constituting a tape support comprises at least two support rollers 116a, 116 b and a pulling-out guide roller 118. These support rollers 116a, 116 b and pulling-out guide roller 118 are rotatably, pivotablysupported by support shafts 120 fixed to a side wall 103 of the mainbody 102. The pulling-out guide roller 118 is placed in between thepositioning roller 31 and the support roller 116 a on its back side andon the back side of a line joining both the axes of the rollers 118, 116a, and turns and guides the adhesive tape 2 a to contact and pressagainst the rollers 118, 116 a.

Furthermore, a support lever 122 is provided under the adhesive-taperoll 2 to retain the adhesive-tape roll 2 not to come out, and is alwaysbiased by the force of a support spring 124 in the direction of the sidewhere the adhesive tape 2 a is pulled out to prevent the tape roll 2from coming out of the main body 102.

With this configuration, without providing a holder shaft (not shown) inthe central opening of the tape housing section 7 as is often usedconventionally, the adhesive-tape roll 2 can be rotatably held againstthe tape tension by the two support rollers 116 a, 116 b closelycontacting the adhesive-tape roll. Thus, without plugging theadhesive-tape roll onto the holder shaft in the central opening as inthe conventional art, the adhesive-tape roll 2 can be easily loaded.

Moreover, because the pulling-out guide roller 4 turns the adhesive tape2 a, the adhesive-tape roll 2 can be placed and housed in the lowerspace of the main body 102. By this means, the main body is greatlyreduced in length and height to become compact, and thus it is easy toinstall the tape cutter on a table of small space and much space savingcan be achieved.

Furthermore, in the third embodiment the cutting section 6 is providedwith an anti-finger-cut means 126 as shown in FIGS. 25 to 27. In theFigures, this anti-finger-cut means 126 comprises shafts 128 on oppositesides of the adhesive tape 2 a to each of which an impeller 130 isrotatably coupled. With this configuration, when the adhesive tape 2 ais pushed down in the middle between the impellers 130, the impellersrotate to move the tape down, and the tape can be pulled out. However,the impellers 130 are placed closely with the space between theimpellers 130 set at 1 to 5 mm such that a finger cannot pass throughbetween the left and right impellers 130. Thus, when the tape is cut,the impellers 130 blocks the finger not to touch the cutter blade 8, andthe adhesive tape 2 a can be cut safely.

FIG. 28 shows a variation on the structure of the support for theadhesive-tape roll 2. In this variation, as opposed to the aboveimplementation, the adhesive-tape roll 2 is placed on and supported bythe two support rollers 116 a, 116 b. In this case, since theadhesive-tape roll 2 sticks out upward from the main body 102 of thetape cutter, larger installation space is needed, but because theadhesive-tape roll 2 can be loaded from above, the tape cutter has theadvantage that the exchange of adhesive-tape rolls 2 is easy.

Fourth Embodiment

FIGS. 29 to 33 show a fourth embodiment of the present invention; FIG.29 is a general perspective view thereof; FIG. 30 is a plan viewthereof; FIG. 31 is a sectional view along line A-A of FIG. 30; FIG. 32is an enlarged perspective view of the folding mechanism; and FIG. 33 isa general perspective view when its open/close cover is opened.

Also in the fourth embodiment, the essential configuration of its mainparts such as the double-portion forming means 16 is much the same as inthe first to third embodiments, and the fourth embodiment differs alittle in the structure of the folding mechanism 20. Accordingly, thestructure of the folding mechanism 20 will be described below in detail,and as to the other parts, the same reference numerals indicate the sameor like parts as in the first to third embodiments, and a descriptionthereof is omitted.

Also in an adhesive tape cutter 301 of the fourth embodiment, thebending roller 32, the bending guide block 60 and the guide protrusion62 of the bending mechanism 30 bend the side edge 2 aS of the adhesivetape 2 a backward so as to form an acute angle of about 60° with theopposite adhesive face. Then, the side edge 2 aS is further bent atabout 180°.

That is, the side edge 2 aS of the adhesive tape 2 a contacts andpresses at the non-adhesive side against the sloping block 21 (a firstguide portion) as the folding guide block of the folding mechanism 20 toform an acute angle of about 45° with the opposite adhesive face, andthen contacts and presses against a base block 22 b (a second guideportion) to be further bent at about 180°. This base block 22 b has awedge-shaped notched portion 23 on its top, and immediately above thenotched portion 23, a press roller 22 c is placed adjacent to thesloping block 21. This press roller 22 c, corresponding to the top block22 a in the first to third embodiments, is fixed instead of the topblock 22 a to the open/close cover 5, and the base block 22 b integralwith the sloping block 21 is fixed to the fixed cover 4.

As such, the press roller 22 c is provided instead of the top block 22 aand by pressing the adhesive tape 2 a against the press roller 22 c,with reducing the tension acting on the adhesive tape 2 a, the adhesivetape side edge 2 aS can be folded smoothly, reliably. Hence, withreduced operation force in pulling-out, operability can be improved asmuch as possible. Here, if the winding angle of the adhesive tape 2 awinding around the press roller 22 c is set slightly larger therebysetting pressing force of the adhesive tape 2 a larger, the oppositeadhesive faces of the adhesive tape 2 a can be stuck together by thepress roller 22 c to form a double portion. In this case, the stickingmeans 40 constituted by the three rollers 41, 42, 43 downstream thereofcan be omitted from the configuration. Furthermore, a support lever 122placed under the adhesive-tape roll 2 to retain the adhesive-tape roll 2not to come out may always be biased by the force of a pulling coilspring 124 a in the direction of the side where the adhesive tape 2 a ispulled out.

The above embodiments are not intended to limit the present invention.It should be understood that various changes can be made therein withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention.

As described in detail by way of the embodiments of the presentinvention, with the tape cutter of the invention, a non-adhesive portionas a picking-off portion for facilitating removal of the adhesive tapecan be easily formed along the longitudinal direction by folding thetape side edge and sticking, and also the function of forming thenon-adhesive portion can be easily switched on/off, and the insertionand loading of the adhesive tape can be easily performed.

Moreover, when the open/close member is open, the non-adhesive portionis not formed on the adhesive tape, and hence, both adhesive tape havinga non-adhesive portion formed and adhesive tape having no non-adhesiveportion formed can be provided for being cut, thus improving theversatility of the tape cutter.

Furthermore, with the adhesive tape of the present invention, becausethere is provided a mark indicating an approximate lateral center of theadhesive face beside the non-adhesive portion, the work of sticking theadhesive tape having the non-adhesive portion formed to an appropriateposition can be easily performed.

1. An adhesive tape cutter having a main body provided with a tapesupport that rotatably supports an adhesive tape roll in which theadhesive tape having one adhesive face is wound like a roll and acutting section that cuts the adhesive tape pulled out from the adhesivetape roll supported by the tape support, wherein between the tapesupport and the cutting section of the main body there is provided adouble-portion forming means that includes adhesive face-side membersdisposed on a side faced by the adhesive face of the adhesive tape andnon-adhesive face-side members disposed on a side faced by anon-adhesive face thereof and that folds at least a longitudinal sideedge of a predetermined width of the adhesive tape in a direction thatthe adhesive face is facing to form a double portion as a non-adhesiveportion by pulling out the adhesive tape between the adhesive face-sidemembers with both the members contacting and pressing against theadhesive tape, wherein the double-portion forming means is fixed to aholder that is attachable and detachable from the main body thatcomprises; a bending roller as one of the adhesive face-side member thatcontacts the adhesive face of the adhesive tape except the side edge ofthe predetermined width to be bent; a bending guide block as one of thenon-adhesive face-side members that is placed opposite an end face ofthe bending roller and contacts and presses against the non-adhesiveface of the side edge of the predetermined width to be bent, notcontacting the bending roller, to sandwich the side edge between the endface of the bending roller and itself and bend the side edge of thepredetermined width in the direction that the adhesive face is facing; afolding guide block as one of the adhesive face-side members that has aguide portion contacting and pressing against the non-adhesive face ofthe bent side edge to bend the side edge to be at an acute angle andthat is placed on the side faced by the adhesive face of the adhesivetape; a sticking means as one of the non-adhesive face-side members thatcontacts and presses against the non-adhesive face of the adhesive tapehaving the side edge folded to stick together opposite adhesive faces ofthe folded adhesive tape; the non-adhesive face-side members aresupported by an open/close member that is openable and closable, and theopen/close member is configured to be movable between a closed positionwhere the non-adhesive face-side members contact and press against theadhesive tape through the double-portion forming means and an openposition where the non-adhesive face-side members do not, and in theopen position, the non-adhesive face-side members such that a path forthe adhesive tape be inserted through is opened up.
 2. The adhesive tapecutter according to claim 1, wherein the folding guide block has a firstguide portion that guides and bends the side edge of the adhesive tapeat a bending angle of about 135° and a second guide portion that bendsthe side edge at a bending angle of about 180°.
 3. The adhesive tapecutter according to claim 2, wherein the first guide portion and thesecond guide portion together form a continuous curved surface on oneside.
 4. The adhesive tape cutter according to claim 1, wherein on thebending guide block, a guide protrusion is formed so as to contact thenon-adhesive face of the bent side edge to guide and bend the side edgeat a bending angle of about 120°.
 5. The adhesive tape cutter accordingto claim 1, wherein a press member of the sticking means is a guideroller.
 6. The adhesive tape cutter according to claim 1, whereinbetween the tape support and the double-portion forming means, there isprovided a positioning means that positions the adhesive tape pulled outfrom the adhesive tape roll in such a position as to be fed to thedouble-portion forming means.
 7. The adhesive tape cutter according toclaim 6, wherein the positioning means is fixed to the open/closemember.
 8. The adhesive tape cutter according to claim 1, wherein theopen/close member is moved between the open and closed positions bybeing rotated sideways relative to a direction that the adhesive tape isinserted through the path.